Kirkwood Trading Company Custom T-shirt screen printing

T-shirt printing for non-profit organizations

Kirkwood Trading Company has been screen printing custom t-shirts in St. Louis for over 20 years now. In that time we have met a lot of great people and printed t-shirts for a lot of great causes. Everybody has a story when they order their custom tees and some are funny, scary, sad, and uplifting. With our history of printing t-shirts we have always looked for ways to give back. A few years back we created a donation budget which is maxed out for the foreseeable future because we have worked with people who have custom t-shirts made for great causes. However we didn’t want to stop so we have created discounts when we do t-shirt printing for non-profit organizations and have even figured out a way to not only discount the shirts but always give back as well.

If you are the head of a local chapter for any non-profit organization who hosts events where your participants order custom t-shirts, you need to contact us because what we do for an organization wide donation will blow anything you’ve ever done out of the water. We can make a huge impact on run and walk events.

On a smaller scale when t-shirt printing for non-profit organizations we offer discounts for things like run and walk events. We understand your purpose is to raise awareness and funds for research. We try to help any way we can and offering discounts on shirts you want to purchase is the best way we know how.

A few things we do aside from discounting the shirts is volunteering any design work if needed. Typically there is a charge when we design a shirt for a customer but when it comes to t-shirt pringing for non-profit organizations we waive those fees with a few exceptions. Those exceptions generally revolve around the complexity of the design and the amount of time it takes to create such a design.

From the beginning Kirkwood Trading Company works with our customers so we are all on the same page quickly. We understand what you need and when you need it. Through the years we have become very good at providing our custom t-shirt screen printing service in a manner that doesn’t take a lot of our customers time. We send digital proofs out to all customers so there is never a mystery and all pricing is set before hand so there are never any surprises.

If you are involved with a foundation organization contact us. We’ll be happy to discuss our t-shirt printing for non-profit organizations and how we serve a national clientele from coast to coast in a timely fashion for a lot less than other screen printing companies.

Kirkwood Trading Company

Best Custom T-shirts For Cheap

The age old question, what are the best custom t-shirts for cheap? It’s actually a question with 2 answers since we are talking about a t-shirt that has a print on it. Before we get started let’s assume we are on the same and using the word cheap to mean inexpensive. Our customers are always looking for budget friendly options and they want to get the most bang for their buck possible. We like to give people options and let them decide what works best because generally people expect us to bring our expertise to the table. This typically comes in the form of helping them choose the right shirt or giving them design ideas or advice on how to best print their image.

The Best Custom T-shirts for Cheap is going to be a 5.3oz preshrunk cotton t-shirt by Gildan, the worlds largest t-shirt manufacturer. The style number is Gildan 5000 or G500 depending on the distributor. They offer over 60 colors to choose and they are the leading source for new and trendy colors. If you are looking for a budget friendly t-shirt, the Gildan 5000 is your shirt.

So now you know the shirt to choose for the best custom t-shirts for cheap, now let’s talk about the other part, the printing.

When it comes to screen printing let your quantity be your guide to how many print colors you want on your design. The less ink colors used in the a custom t-shirt design, the less it costs. So a single color print is going to be more cost effective than a 6 color print. With that being said, if you are ordering custom t-shirts and your quantity is going to be between 12 and 24 shirts, you almost always want to keep that to a single color front and back print or a two color front print. When you get into 3 or more colors on that small of a quantity the shirts can become cost prohibitive. You want cost effective, you are looking for cheap. In addition, white t-shirts are the least expensive and colored shirts are the most expensive with a few shades of grey falling in the middle. You can order a few thousand shirts with a 6 color print and it will be just as economical as a 12 shirt order with a single print. The key is to match the quantity with the print color for the best custom t-shirts for cheap.

One thing Kirkwood Trading Company does is provide their customers with options when they give a price quote to a customer who is uncertain of what they want. Often times a customer is looking for a higher quality t-shirt and screen print but has a lower budget. By giving them options they can pick and choose what is more important to them and choose options to match their budget. Sometimes a customer has to have a higher quality softer shirt and they can sacrifice and eliminate some print colors to meet their shirt budget. Other times customers can’t or won’t sacrifice the number of colors in the design but can live with a t-shirt that isn’t as soft. We’ll be happy to give you options be it for custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, polos, etc.

Kirkwood Trading Company offers an online quote form, a design studio where customers can design their shirts online, and we are always a phone call or email away as well to answer any questions. You can reach us here at our contact page. Contact us

Kirkwood Trading Company screen prints on Gildan T-shirts

Custom Printed Gildan T-shirts make up the majority of logo tees you see around town. Gildan is the biggest manufacturer of blank t-shirts and they are on the cutting edge in regards to trendy colors and popular styles and materials.

Gildan t-shirts will be the default t-shirt quoted and supplied by screen printers for several reasons.
1. Gildan has the best stock of any t-shirt manufacturer and every distributor full stocks Gildan at all of the locations.

2. Gildan t-shirts are the most t-shirts on the market

3. Gildan T-shirts offer the most colors of any shirt manufacturer

4. The have the best price point

5. Gildan offers several custom apparel styles from preshrunk cotton, Dryblend, performance, and softstyle tees. Not to mention their full line of hoodies, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and quarter zip pullovers.

If you are in the market for custom printed t-shirts in St. Louis, be sure to check out these styles. We will be happy to give you a free price quote on any style you choose.

* Gildan 5000 and Gildan 2000 – 100% preshrunk cotton unisex tees. Come in over 75 colors and both in youth, adult, and several ladies styles including V-neck

* Gildan Dryblend – a performance blend of cotton and polyester that is lightweight and softer than traditional preshrunk cotton

* Gildan Performance – They offer 2 performance tees and rival the big names. They have their basic poly performance which is a very light weight shirt and they now have a performance tech t-shirt which a personal favorit of mine.

* Gildan Softstyle – A softer ringspun cotton that rivals the softness of the trendy brands at a lower price. Great heathered color options and light weight with tapering for a true modern fit.

With their abundance of different color options and style you will be sure to find the perfect shirt color and ink color compliment to create a truly unique custom t-shirt order.

If you would be interested in a price quote you can contact Kirkwood Trading Company at your convenience and we’ll be happy to speak with you on your next screen printing order.

Kirkwood Trading Company St. Louis custom t-shirt screen printing shop

Creating a successful online spirit store has never been easier. First and foremost now more than ever people are making all kinds of purchases online. Second, Kirkwood Trading Compmany provides it’s clients with a free online store where schools, teams, and organizations can sell their custom spirit wear. So the costs that are associated with selling spirit wear are no longer there because there is no need for costly inventory or space. There is no longer a need to purchase a domain name and hosting plan. Kirkwood Trading Company now provides all of these things completely free to our clients. What’s more, we also completely build the store for you, handle order processing, and if need be, shipping and bagging. All you have to do is sit back and collect the revenue. Yes, it’s that easy.

First Things First
When it comes to a successful online spirit store you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The mmost successful stores contain 80% of the staple apparel and 20% unique apparel that is geared specifically towards your clientele. By staples we are talking about t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, hats, jackets, bags, etc. By unique apparel we are talking specialty apparel where you know they’ll be a hit. This might be a baseball tee, a unique cut women’s cut tee, it could even be a unique one time design, which we’ll get to in just a bit. Staples are important because they are expected, they typically remain the same in both style and print year after year and a perfect case and point would ba high school spirit wear store. If a schools colors are black and gold then more than likely a staple would be a black hoodie with a gold print that says something like Springfield. Something a student might by a couple times throughout his high school career but it’s common enough that town citizens, incoming freshman, and the like all buy this staple year after year. Staple items are the life blood of a successful online spirit store. The unique items are to gain additional revenue from the people who own the staples.

Go unique to get more sales
One thing we find successful is when a school or team offers a new and fresh design that is only offered for a limited time and then never to be seen again. This creates buzz and buzz creates sales. Nobody likes to feel left out and if a particular shirt with a unique design is only for sale for a limited time, then people will jump on it. It’s a way to create buzz, attract new customers, and get additional sales from existing customers.

We do this exact same thing for a local club sport here in St. Louis. They have an online spirit store 3 times a year for a few weeks each time. They offer about 20 different items. Of those 20 different items 15 of them are always the same, there staples. 4 items are completely new and fresh with each time the store is reoponed, and the 20th product, is always a brand new limited edition design that is only for sale during that particular time the store is open. If they have 200 memebers, they’ll see about 160 of this unique limited edition shirt alone. The rest of the sales are from the staples and unique designs. But what is nice is that you’ll find people who ordered apparel from their store in the summer, so they typically won’t order anything in the fall, but the summer people will most certainly buy that one limited edition item in the fall.

Having something limited edition is a great way to gain additional sales.

If you have an interest in learning more about how Kirkwood Trading Company can help you with your custom online spirit store, give us a call or send us an email and we’ll be happy to discuss what we can do for you to help you generate revenue without spending any money. We promise, it really is that simple.

custom t-shirt screen printing in St. Louis

Top 5 T-shirts to Customize

This list of top 5 t-shirts to customize is based on the past 3 years of our personal clients buying habits which is based on quality, color availability, price point, and durability. As a local St. Louis screen printing company we can agree with these choices and give you the reasons and feedback to back that up. So if you are in the market for custom t-shirts you may want to take a look at these top 5 t-shirts and see if their popularity aligns with the goals for your custom t-shirt order.

Performance T-shirts A4 3142 unisex
While performance tees have come a long way over the past few years with several companies now offering a 100% moisture wicking polyester t-shirt, it can be hard to choose the best one for you. I’ll tell you a diry little secret: 100% polyester is 100% polyester and there isn’t going to be a difference between a $50 t-shirt or a $4 t-shirt. The main difference comes in the weight of the shirt and for consumers of custom t-shirts, color availability and price point.

The A4 brand is a great up and coming brand. While they are well established and known for quality shirts at a great price, only in the past few years have all of the major distributors picked them up. They offer several styles including men, women, and youth and they get into the popular trends of sublimated designs where you can buy their shirts with camo patterns or accent piping. They offer socks, shorts, sweatshirts, and more.

Screen Printers Perspective:
They are readily available, come in enough colors to satisfy most of our clients, and the shirts themselves are very durable so we don’t have to handle them with additional care in order to not cause runs in the fabric.

Customers perspective:
A4 boasts the best price point among 100% poly moisture wicking t-shirts and they have a nice color selection as well as nice ladies and youth compliments to their 3142. Customer feedback has been really positive which is great because it’s usually us turning new clients onto this product to save them money.

Fashion T-shirts Next Level 3600 cotton crew
Fashion tees have beceome a big trend in recent years with more and more people wanting a softer tapered cut t-shirt. Next Level would have several t-shirts in the Top 5 T-shirts but only this one because of price point, feel, and availability puts it in the top 5 t-shirts. It’s ringspun cotton so it is softer than your typical shirt.

Screen Printers Perspective:
It’s a great price point and great availibility. Only downside would be limited color options and of those a lot of earth tone colors.

Customer Perspective:
Customers are able to get into a trendy shirt at a lost price point. This is great for branding, especially when selling shirts or promoting something because they have soft feel everyone wants.

Garment Dyed T-shirts Comfort Colors
If you are in high school or college, then you know comfort colors. These are garment dyed shirts that sit in a category of their own and pretty much have complete market saturation. They have TONS of unique colors and a soft feel for a garment dyed shirt. These would be the most popular shirt among the 14-22 year old consumer. In addition they have several styles that include pocket tees, tank tops, and sweatshirts. The only downside which should be ending soon is their availability as their stock has suffered greatly and cost them some major dollars because they have been hard to get. That should change though with Gildan purchasing them at least that is hopefully the plan.

Screen Printers Perspective:
Their price point is a little higher for a solid colored t-shirt but customers who order this expect that. Their limited stock can make fulfilling customers orders difficult, but they are easy to print on, durable, and when they have stock in the colors the customer wants, it makes for a rewarding order.

Customer perspective:
Unique colors and softness stick out the most. Again, they have a higher price point but customers expect that and are willing to pay for it. But the unique colors stand out among all of the others which is great to get a message across. So for some years they have been in the top 5 t-shirts

Most Popular T-shirts: Gildan 2000 and 5000
Gildan is the largest T-shirt manufacturer in the world and more than likely if you see a custom t-shirt, it’s a Gildan brand shirt. They have 2 styles really, the are in the top 5 custom t-shirts to customize. Their 2000 – 6oz 100% preshrunk cotton and their 5000 5oz 100% preshrunk cotton. The 5000 has the best price point and comes in over 50 colors. The 2000 comes in over 70 colors. The price point is great, every single distributor carries them, their availability is second to none. They also come out with new colors each year and curb the poor selling colors so you always get the latest and greatest color trends.

Screen Printers Perspective:
Withhout a doubt their low price point, high quality, and huge color options make them a fit for 90% of the custom t-shirt consumers out there. They are very durable, the cotton is preshrunk, and their fit is the gauge by all shirts. So you get a standard fitting t-shirt that comes in a lot of colors and even sizes for that matter. You can get virtually any Gildan t-shirt on a one day ship which make them great for rush orders.

Customer perspective:
Customers love Gildan because of their color choices and their durability and most colors come in both youth and adult so they are a great fit for virtually anything under the sun be it awareness walks, fundraisers, trips, family reunions, or whatever.

Blend Shirts Gildan 8000 Dryblend
Gildan came out with their 8000 some years back and it’s their 50/50 cotton poly Dryblend. So it has some moisture properties and is a little softer than their preshrunk cotton styles. They have over 30 colors available in this style and it also comes in youth and long sleeve. The price point is the same as the Gildan heavy cotton tee so it’s a great option for a myriad of ocassions.

Screen printers perspective:
Availability is great, durability is great, lots of color options at a great price point. Easy to print on and easy to sway a customer into a more modern blend shirt since the price point is the same as a cotton.

Custom perspective:
Customers are getting a softer more modern trendy shirt at a great price with lots of color options. You can’t go wrong with this blend.

Honorable Mentions:
There is an abundance of honorable mentions that didn’t make the top 5 t-shirts to customize. Some of them could just be the consumers aren’t aware of them and other times price point and avaialability don’t make them a good match.

Any Gildan product is going to be a great buy. Their durability, availability, color options, and price point make even their new tech performance shirt and softstyle shirts something to consider. Everything is moderately priced from Gildan and you simply can’t go wrong no matter your purpose for ordering custom t-shirts.

Fruit of the loom, Jerzees, hanes, are all in the same category as Gildan with practically the same price points and same color options.

Next level has a great lineup and compete directly with Bella but Next Level tends to have a better price point. There are specialty brands such as LAT, Rabbit Skins, Boxercraft that also offer a variety of products and colors as well.

When you are in the market for custom t-shirts contact Kirkwood Trading Company in St. Louis. We serve a clientele across the United States and offer super fast turn around times and ultra competitive pricing.

You can contact us here Free quote

Kirkwood Trading Company

T-shirt Fundraising made Easy

Smart fundraisers know that people like to get something in return for their donation which is why a t-shirt fundraiser makes sense. In fact, studies show that people tend to give more when they get something back for their money. It doesn’t have to be a something of equal value like most people think, because let’s face it, that would defeat the purpose. Although the perceived value is something that really encourages people to donate. Let’s say you want to buy the latest trendy t-shirt at a store, more than likely you will end up paying $25, $45, or much more.

Now imagine selling a custom t-shirt for your cause that has a price tag of $15 or $20. Plenty of people out there will buy a $20 gag t-shirt for a single use ocassion. So to sell a fundraising t-shirt for $15 or $20 where the buyer can wear it all the time is a no brainer.

The most successful fundraising campaigns will have a broad audience with a high number of possible contributors so the t-shirt cost is very minimal. In order to have a successful t-shirt fundraising campaign, ideally you want to buy a high volume of shirts. Of course that all just depends on your goals.

Custom t-shirt fundraising is a great way to have fun by coming up with a unique design catered to promote the cause. They can be serious, funny, abstract, it doesn’t matter. And that’s just it, t-shirt fundraising can be cateret to fit your specific audience and geared toward the outcome you wish to portray.

The best part is there is no cost to you to get started. You can do away with costly inventory and taking the time to sell them to each individual. Kirkwood Trading Company provides you with a free web store where we’ll handle all of the order processing and if need be, shipping as well.

It’s easy to get started with a simple email or phone call. We’ll be happy to talk with you and help you with design, best practices, and whatever we can do to help. A successful t-shirt fundraiser is a goal that serves everyone involved.

You can contact us here. Contact Us

Custom Tshirt Screen Printing in St. Louis

Custom Charity walk event tshirts

The fundraising season is upon us with various charity walk and run events taking place. Few things are as cost effective when it comes to marketing than a custom t-shirt. The exposure each shirt gets compared to it’s investment makes logo shirts among the best money spent for getting a name or event in front of people.

Let’s do some simple math. A $10,000 billboard seen by 50,000 people basically costs around $.20/cents per impression or per person who sees it. An $8 custom t-shirt that is seen by 300 people costs around $.02/cents per impression or per person who sees the shirt. You cannot compare 50,000 people seeing something and 300 people seeing something and assume more people will purchase or get involved with the product because 50,000. The important thing is the cost per impression. Multiply that 300 people seeing a t-shirt and multiple that by 500, 1000, or 2,000 t-shirts. On 500 t-shirts, those would be seen by 150,000 people and when it costs $.02/cents per shirt for that impression, few things are better than t-shirts when it comes to marketing.

The custom charity walk event tshirts are always a big hit. That’s why they always order them because they know the impact that having each participant walk away with a logo shirt for that fundraising effort is only increasing awareness which equals dollars spent on that particular cause. Take Autism for example. It is now a household term do in part to more diagnosis meaning it’s hitting more homes first hand. But with that comes the awareness and the incredible number of people who sign up for these walks and then get the t-shirt for participating. It’s a huge cycle that just makes the end goal of finding a cure that much more reachable.

What’s more is the team aspect and the fundraising teams ordering their individual custom charity walk event tshirts. They are raising awareness and showing unity amongst those in their inner circle that care. The t-shirt shows the unity and makes for a great marketing piece and a keepsake at the same time.

Custom charity walk event tshirts – people love them

When it comes to t-shirts, people love them whether it’s a t-shirt from their last vacation or their latest walk event. Custom charity walk event tshirts are about two things. First, people tend to donate or donate more when they recieve a tangible item in return for their donation. So tshirts make a great cost effective gift. Second, the exposure is second to none. Compare cost and exposure to other ad mediums and you’ll find custom charity walk event tshirts are a great commodity year after year.

For further information or to request a quote for your custom charity walk event tshirts, you can contact us here.
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Kirkwood Trading Company

Custom Prom Tank Tops

So this is the 2nd year in a row we are seeing a trend for orders for custom prom tank tops and t-shirts. The traditional order has a design, school name, a reference to prom, and then on the back they are customized with the year, and then your dates name on the back.

The popular custom prom tank tops are comfort colors. Still a popular brand among high school and college students. While a higher price point compared to most brands, students are willing to pay for the trend and with so much customization they already expect to pay a higher price.

Kirkwood Trading Company provides a one week turn around on such orders as long as we receive everything from the client that is requested. Shirt style, color, and sizes. A list of names and the design is in a vector format ready to go. From there we can order your t-shirts or tanks on a Monday and have them ready to go that Friday.